Rostrum Records is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

initially located in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, now located in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Benjy Grinberg is the founder and president of the label, which currently has twelve artists on its roster:

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...

Rich the Kid Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), professionally known as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. He released his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'', on March 30, 2018. His second studio album, '' The World Is Yours 2'', was relea ...

Mod Sun Derek Ryan Smith (born March 10, 1987), known professionally as Mod Sun (stylized as MOD SUN or MODSUN) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and rapper from Bloomington, Minnesota. He has released four solo studio albums, thr ...

The Bird and the Bee The Bird and the Bee (stylized in all lowercase) is an American indie pop musical duo from Los Angeles, consisting of Inara George ("the bird") and Greg Kurstin ("the bee"). Kurstin is a seven-time Grammy Award–winning producer and multi- ...

, Donora, Lambo Anlo, TeamMate, Mike Taylor, BRÅVES, Juliann Alexander, and Boaz. Rostrum Records has sold millions of albums and singles, and Rostrum's artists have been nominated for a combined total of eleven

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

. Rostrum Records has become one of the leading independent movements in the music industry, and has been at the forefront of artist development for over a decade. Rostrum’s innovative digital savvy has helped formulate a new model for the industry. The label was named one of ''Vibe'' magazine's "Top 5 Labels to Watch in 2012" and ''XXL'' magazine's "Top Rising Indie Label in 2011". Grinberg was named #23 on ''The Source'' magazine's annual Power 30 list in its September 2011 issue. Rostrum's creative digital strategy and a heavy touring philosophy resulted in the building of a large following for

and

. The result of Rostrum's efforts were strong social media presences, hundreds of thousands of concert tickets sold, and over half a billion views on both of their YouTube channels.

History

Rostrum began in 2003 while founder Benjy Grinberg was working at

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

. Grinberg wanted to be able to develop his own artists and run a label his own way, so he took the lessons he learned from Arista and applied them to a more homegrown situation. When asked his original motivations behind setting up Rostrum Records, Grinberg said "music executives need to be patient with artists and let them develop over time, and so our focus with Rostrum is artist development - finding artists early, and then putting a lot of time and effort into developing the artist across the board, from their shows to their music, their songwriting, their style…everything." Grinberg first heard about

in 2004 when the rapper's contribution to a mixtape of various new

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

artists attracted his interest. When Grinberg finally met the 16-year-old artist, he immediately decided he wanted to work with him, later telling HitQuarters: "Even though he wasn't all the way developed you could just tell that he was a diamond in the rough, and that with some polishing, guidance and backing he could become something special." Khalifa signed to the label shortly after and began a seven-year period of artist development.

released two records through Rostrum,

Show and Prove ''Show and Prove'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on September 5, 2006, by Rostrum Records. Recording sessions took place from 2005 to 2006, with the production primarily provided from I.D. Labs, along ...

in 2006 and

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a.k ...

in 2009. Deal or No Deal, with much assistance from the lead single "This Plane", was especially successful in introducing Khalifa to hip hop fans. To build on the success of

, Rostrum and

then began releasing a series of mixtapes online for free, which began garnering an enormous buzz for Khalifa.

released his most popular mixtape " Kush and Orange Juice" for download on June 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google's hot search trends. In early 2010,

signed with Rostrum Records. Grinberg met

while recording with Wiz Khalifa at ID Labs in Pittsburgh. Although Grinberg started giving Miller advice, he did not show interest in getting involved with his career until Miller began work on the ''K.I.D.S.'' mixtape, when, as he later told

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

, Grinberg "noticed a maturation in his sound and approach to his music." By that point Miller had started attracting interest from different record companies but chose Rostrum due to its location in his hometown and association with Wiz Khalifa. ''K.I.D.S.'' was released by the label in August 2010. The mixtape was inspired by the 1995 film ''

Kids Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, leath ...

''. A significant breakthrough came in late 2010 when Miller embarked on his first tour, the Incredibly Dope Tour, selling out every location. In 2018, Rostrum signed hip hop trio, FREEWIFI with Tha Rift, J plaza and Daddy Dinero. Through Rostrum, they released studio album, Connected.

Mainstream success for Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller

With both

's and

's careers on the rise, Rostrum Records was able to reach new heights in 2011.

's single "

Black and Yellow "Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his third studio album, ''Rolling Papers''. It was released on September 14, 2010, as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Khalifa, along with Stargate, who pro ...

" climbed the charts for 18 months before reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on in February 2011, becoming his first #1 single. Some of the song's success can be attributed to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

making it to the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...

. “

” became the team's anthem since the song is an ode to the city of Pittsburgh's black and yellow colors.

released the mixtape ''

Best Day Ever "Best Day Ever" is the first segment of the 20th episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', and the 80th episode overall. The episode was written by Nate Cash, Tuck Tucker, and Steven Bank ...

'' on March 11, 2011. Since the release, it has been downloaded over 1,137,000 times and streamed over 1,155,000 times from the official host of the mixtape, DatPiff.com. The first single off ''

'', "

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

" charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 debuting at number 80. While online free as a part of Best Day Ever, "Donald Trump" was still purchased over a million times. In March 2013, "Donald Trump" was awarded a Platinum certification by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, Mac Miller's first platinum record. On March 29, 2011, Rostrum released ''

Rolling Papers Rolling paper is a specialty paper used for making cigarettes (commercially manufactured filter cigarettes and individually made roll-your-own cigarettes). Rolling papers are packs of several cigarette-size sheets, often folded inside a cardboar ...

'',

's major label debut, through a partnership with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. The album capitalized on the success of "Black and Yellow" with subsequent platinum singles " Roll Up", " No Sleep", and "

On My Level "On My Level" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa featuring fellow American rapper Too $hort released as the first promotional, and later third official single from the former's third studio album, ''Rolling Papers'' (2011). The song was wri ...

was awarded a Platinum certification in June 2011. Rostrum released

's debut studio album

Blue Slide Park ''Blue Slide Park'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Mac Miller. It was released on November 8, 2011, by Rostrum Records. The album is named after a section of Frick Park (known as "Blue Slide Park") in Pittsburgh, near where Mille ...

on November 8, 2011, only eight months after the release of "

". Rostrum Records sold 145,000 copies of

in its first week, becoming the first independently-distributed debut album by an artist to hit No. 1 since 1995. On December 13, 2011,

released '' Mac & Devin Go to High School'' a collaborative album with

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

, through

Doggystyle Records Doggy Style Records (formerly known as Dogghouse Records) is an American record label founded by rapper Snoop Dogg in 1995. It is named after Snoop Dogg's debut album, ''Doggystyle'' (1993). History On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc. ...

, which was the soundtrack to a movie of the same name starring Khalifa and Snoop Dogg. The album's lead single " Young, Wild & Free" (featuring

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

) debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and has been certified platinum. Just a little under a year later, on December 4, 2012,

's '' ONIFC'' was released and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 141,000 copies in its first week. In 2013, Rostrum Records signed

Leon Thomas III Leon G. Thomas III (born ) is an American actor, record producer, songwriter and singer. After early roles in Broadway and providing the singing voice of Tyrone on the Nick Jr. animated series ''The Backyardigans'' (2006–2008), he played And ...

from the television show ''

Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around asp ...

to the label.

's second album "

Watching Movies with the Sound Off ''Watching Movies with the Sound Off'' is the second studio album by American rapper Mac Miller. It was released June 18, 2013, by Rostrum Records. The album continued his changes in musical sound that began with the mixtape '' Macadelic''. Miller ...

" was released through Rostrum on June 18, 2013. Upon its release, the album was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, which praised his new psychedelic hip hop influence and improved lyricism. In its first week, "

" sold 102,000 copies in the United States, debuting at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Departure of Mac Miller; Signing of Mod Sun & The Bird and the Bee

On January 14, 2014

and Rostrum Records parted ways, as his original deal with the label had ended. Rostrum released

's third album " Blacc Hollywood" on August 19, 2014, with the lead single "

We Dem Boyz "We Dem Boyz" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his fifth studio album '' Blacc Hollywood'' (2014). On February 11, 2014, it was released by Rostrum Records and Atlantic Records as the album's first single. It was produced by Detail an ...

". The album was a critical success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 90,453 copies in the United States, making it his first album to take the top spot in its first week. With the departure of

, and

in a joint deal with Atlantic, Rostrum moved into a new phase of operations to expand their roster. In 2014 and 2015 respectively, Rostrum announced the signing of Minnesota rapper

and LA indie-pop duo

. Rostrum Records released

's debut studio album, ''Look Up'' on March 10, 2015 and

's first album of original material since 2009 entitled "'' Recreational Love''" on July 17, 2015.

"See You Again"; Signing of Goodbye Tomorrow

co-wrote and performed "

See You Again "See You Again" is a song by American rapper and singer Wiz Khalifa featuring fellow American singer Charlie Puth. It was commissioned for the soundtrack of the 2015 film ''Furious 7'' as a tribute to actor Paul Walker, who died in a single-ve ...

(feat.

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after p ...

)" for the soundtrack of the 2015 action film ''

Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), and ser ...

'' as a tribute to the late

Paul Walker Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recogniti ...

. "

" was an enormous global commercial success, becoming Khalifa's biggest hit to date. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 non-consecutive weeks, tying Eminem's "Lose Yourself" for the longest-running rap number-one hit in the country. Later in 2015, Rostrum Records signed Goodbye Tomorrow, an anonymous hip hop collective from Chicago, IL. Rostrum was introduced to the group by producer

E. Dan Eric Dan, known professionally as E. Dan, is a Pittsburgh-based recording engineer, mixer, and producer. Most known for his extensive work with hip-hop artists Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller, E. Dan has recorded, mixed and/or produced several grammy ...

, who has worked closely with Rostrum Records and their roster. E.Dan is a producer and mixer for ID Labs, a Pittsburgh-based recording studio and production team. On August 14, 2015, Rostrum Records released "A Journey Through the Mind of a Non Believer", Goodbye Tomorrow's debut album.

served as a "musical advisor" for Goodbye Tomrrow, who helped them with the final phase of mixing and by "touching up a few things here and there". On October 7, 2015, the video for

's "

" reached over a billion views on YouTube, making it the very first hip-hop song to do so. "

" was nominated for three

at the 58th ceremony: Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media. As of February 2016, the video for "

" had received over 1.48 billion views, the most viewed video by a rapper ever.

''Best Day Ever'' 5th anniversary re-issue; Wiz Khalifa lawsuit

On May 31, 2016, Wiz Khalifa filed a $1 million lawsuit against Rostrum Records Founder Benjy Grinberg, alleging that the parties had profited from "virtually every aspect" of his professional life through a 360 deal signed in 2005 when he was a teenager. Khalifa's suit alleged that Grinberg and Rostrum entered into deals with Warner Bros. Records and Atlantic Records for his recordings. Grinberg and Rostrum followed with their own lawsuit a month later, seeking "millions of dollars in unpaid" royalties and earnings from touring and merchandising. Grinberg said his former client's allegations were the "complete opposite of our actions and the antithesis of what Rostrum Records and I stand for." Wiz Khalifa and Rostrum Records founder Benjy Grinberg, the rapper's former manager, have resolved their lawsuits against each. According to a statement provided to Billboard, "all disputes" have been resolved following a joint settlement agreement. "This agreement includes the dismissal of lawsuits that each party had previously filed against each other earlier this year," the statement reads. "Both parties are pleased with the outcome and look forward to putting this matter behind them." Financial details of the joint settlement were not disclosed. On June 3, 2016, Rostrum re-released Mac Miller's breakout mixtape ''

''. The 5th anniversary remastered edition became available on all commercial download and streaming services, as well as vinyl and CD form.

Notable artists

Releases

;Studio albums *2006: ''

'' (

) *2008: ''Donora'' ( Donara) *2009: ''

'' (Wiz Khalifa) *2011: ''Boyfriends, Girlfriends'' ( Donora) *2011: ''

'' (Wiz Khalifa) (Rostrum/

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

/ Taylor Gang) *2011: ''

'' (

) *2012: ''

O.N.I.F.C. ''O.N.I.F.C.'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. The album was released on December 4, 2012, by Atlantic Records and Rostrum Records. The album's title was inspired by the album '' H.N.I.C.'' by Prodigy of Mobb Deep, and ...

'' (Wiz Khalifa) (Rostrum/Atlantic/Taylor Gang) *2013: ''

'' (Mac Miller) *2014: '' Blacc Hollywood'' (Wiz Khalifa)(Rostrum/Atlantic/Taylor Gang) *2014: ''Ha Ha Heart'' ( Donora) *2014: ''Intuition'' (Boaz) *2015: '' Look Up'' (

) *2015: '' Recreational Love'' (

) *2015: ''A Journey Through the Mind of a Non Believer'' (Goodbye Tomorrow) *2016: ''

Khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalif ...

'' (Wiz Khalifa) *2016: ''

'' (Mac Miller) *2017: ''

Movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'' (Mod Sun) *2017: '' BB'' (Mod Sun) *2018: '' Mellow Waves'' (Cornelius) *2018: ''Keep it Clean'' ( Innanet James) *2018: '' WAX'' (

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. The ...

) *2018: Connected (FREEWIFI) *2020: ''Come As You Are'' (DC The Don) *2022: ''My Own Worst Enemy'' (DC The Don) ;EPs *2011: '' On and On and Beyond'' (

) *2012: ''Kiss The Sky'' (Vali) *2013: ''Paper Charade'' (Vali) *2013: ''Play Nice'' ( Donora) *2013: ''The Sequel EP'' (TeamMate) *2016: ''Recreational Remixes'' (

) *2016: ''Feel Good EP'' (Mike Taylor) *2016: ''III EP'' (BRÅVES) *2016: ''Nothing's Ever Over Remixes'' (TeamMate)

References

*Tinsley, J (August 12, 2010).
Mac Miller 'Don't Mind If I Do' video
. SmokingSection.net *(February 1, 2016).
Rostrum Records "About"
. *Masley, Ed (July 24, 2005).
A rapper on the rise
. ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved on August 2, 2007. *Roberts, Josie (June 28, 2005).

. ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. Retrieved on August 2, 2007.

External links

* {{Authority control Record labels established in 2003 American record labels Hip hop record labels